The Summer Bucket List!

Three months, 90 days, and 129600 minuets. The amount of time you have every year to make lasting memories with friends and family. While it may seem like a lot of time, boy does it fly by! Time really does fly when your having fun, so why not make it the most fun you’ve ever had. Whether your planning a summer of fun for the family, or wanting relaxing time off for yourself, there’s only one way to guarantee a day is never wasted. A BUCKET LIST! I have compiled a list of fun activities for nights out with the friends, family gatherings, or some sweet alone time! See what else you have to cross off your list before the summer is over!

1. Beach Day

Everyone loves a good beach day! Bring your family, your friends, or just yourself! Either way, it never disappoints. Pack a bag full of snacks, drinks, inner tubes and sunscreen and your ready to hit the sand. Make a “day-cation” out of it and pick a beach a little off the beaten path. The kids will think it’s a special occasion and you get an escape from reality!

2. Indulge in a New Book

Now is the time to pick up that book all your friends are talking about! Visit your local bookstore and pick up some from the top sellers list. Grab your favorite wine, a blanket, and your new book and you’re set for the night! Make a goal for yourself to finish a few before the summer is up!

3. S’mores

The crowd favorite. What’s not to like? No one can resist the gooey chocolate and marshmallow combo 🙂

4. Go Camping!

Trust me, it’s not as bad as it sounds. Here’s your chance to really escape from the real world. While this is fun to do as a family, if yours is anything like mine the car ride will be enough time together for the next month. I personally enjoy going with friends and making some awesome memories to remember for a life time. Nothing brings people closer together then sleeping on the ground and having nature as your bathroom!

5. Take a Hike

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If you can’t commit to a full weekend of camping, this is an easy substitute. Take a day trip to a beautiful park and pack some snacks. Hike until you’re too tired to function, then relax and watch the sunset before driving home. I can guarantee the view is worth the sweat.

6. Hammock Nap

If you have never taken a nap in a hammock, you have never experienced the most amazing relaxation. Words can’t describe how great you will feel. Another perfect time to read that book you’ve been hearing about!

7. Drive-in Movie

Go old school this summer and take the family to a drive in movie. Bring your own snacks and a ton of blankets to make a comfy nest in the back! The kids will love going with the family, or it could be a romantic date night for two!

Now that the summer is coming to a close, hurry up and get the memories in while you can. See what’s left on your summer bucket list and make it happen. Ready? Set? GO!

-Have a Smashing Summer

How To Stay Energized

Wake up, drive the kids, go to work, pick up kids, make dinner, play with kids, clean the house, go to bed, repeat. Life can be exhausting! Keeping up enough energy to make it through the day is something everyone has struggled with at one point. Some people get their energy crash earlier then others, some not until late in the day, and some don’t get one at all! So why is it that you get this crash? Well i’m no doctor so i honestly have no idea, BUT  i did come up with a few helpful tips that help me get my day going, and keep it going!

1. Wake up at the same time everyday:

Now this one i am definitely guilty of. My work schedule tends to vary so i never get up at the same time every day. When my sleep schedule is off, i can feel the difference in my energy and how i feel that day. Getting in a routine of sleep is a great way to keep your energy up. You know that your getting enough sleep each night and you can wake up feeling refreshed! If you already have a fixed schedule, great! You’re one step ahead of me and one step ahead of getting more energy!

2.  The most important meal of the day

Hopefully you said breakfast. Breakfast is the first meal that goes into your body so it’s important that it’s a good one! Eating a protein filled breakfast is an easy way to get your extra morning boost! I love drinking a protein smoothie, or eggs are always a good choice. Check out our Tuesday posts for ideas of healthy options 😉

3. Hydrate!

Water is your best friend, especially in the summer time! Keeping a water bottle with you at all times is the best way to keep hydrated. Even if i’m not thirsty i find myself sipping on it throughout the day just because it’s there. Make it a daily goal to drink AT LEAST two water bottles a day. Instead of a ordering a soda when out to eat, just drink water. It’s an easy substitution to make and it saves you a couple bucks!

4. Work it out

Hit the gym and get that booty workin’! Get the blood flowing and your body moving! If you start to feel drowsy and have the extra time, try working out! Getting your body up and around will help wake you up. Adding a daily workout to your routine might be what you need to switch up your day.

5. Naps ARE okay!!!!!!

If after these simple changes you’re still not feeling totally energized, it is okay to take a quick nap. Emphasis on the “quick”. Laying down and reading a book or closing your eyes for 25 minuets is not saying your lazy and sluggish. Resting your eyes for a few minuets might just be what you need to get you through the rest of your day. Just be sure not to fall into the 3 hour sleep coma i am sometimes guilty of….

Let us know if any of these tips helped you! Or share with us what you like to do to keep up your energy!

-Stay Smashing 🙂 

Tennis Elbow Stretches

Tennis elbow is one of the most common injuries of an avid tennis player. This discomfort is caused by the over working of the muscles in your arm. While it is very common, many do not know how to treat it. Here a few stretches to help you on the road to recovery! 

1. Wrist stretch:

Flex the wrist of the injured arm backward with your fingers pointing up and your palm away from your face. With the help of the uninjured arm, pull back on the fingers of the injured arm with slight pressure. This slight pull will help stretch out those muscles! Hold pressure for about 15-20 seconds a repeat a few times each day.

2. Ball or sock squeeze:

This can be done using a small ball, pair of socks, or a stress ball (if you have it). Place the ball in the palm of the injured arm. Squeeze the ball while holding the pressure for about 10 seconds, then release. Do this exercise 10-12 times and repeat daily. You can also perform this exercise on the uninjured arm to help strengthen it!

3. Elbow swing:

Bend the elbow of your injured arm slowly while bringing the palm toward your face. Then fully straighten the arm. If the elbow begins to hurt of have tension during this exercise, do not force it. Slow down and start again! Repeat 8-10 times!

4. Can hold:

Use a small can or a light weight (if you have it) and hold it in the hand of the injured arm. Begin to curl your wrist up and bend the elbow. Doing the same motion as a bicep curl. Do 10-15 sets of this. Once finished you can turn your wrist over and repeat the exercise the same way but with the back of your hand coming toward the face!

5. Palm press:

Straighten your injured arm out in front of you with the hand being flexed. Rotate the arm so your fingers are toward the ground and your forearm is up. Stand in front of a wall or door and begin to slowly press your hand onto the wall. Continue to press until your palm is flat to the surface. You should feel a slight pull in your forearm! Repeat this a few times each day!

6. Wrist rotation:

While extending the injured arm, hold your injured wrist in your other hand. Slowly begin to make small circles with your wrist. Rotating from the left to the right, then again from the right to the left. Do this about 20 times! Repeat 3 times daily!

 Have a Smashing day! 

DIY Golf Stroke Counter

Counting your golf strokes, such a simple thing…right? Well it might not be as easy as it looks. We are all guilty of it or at least have a friend who is. We lose count! There’s always that one golf game! You’re out on the course with your girlfriends, ice tea in hand. You’re about to make your final putt, but you suddenly realize…”what stroke am I on?” You easily got caught up in all the country club drama and the gossip about the hunky doctor next door. Let’s face it we know it happens. Even if you are still in denial about your pin sharp memory, I know we all have that one friend who we are pretty sure likes to fudge her score a little bit. Well, look no further! I am here to help! I have made a step-by-step guide of a DIY golf stroke counter. They’re fun, easy to make, and the perfect golf bag accessory!

What You Will Need:

• String/rope/twine
• Beads/marbles/charms
• Key chain ring or clip
• Scissors

To begin simply take your choice of string, rope, or twine and tie it tightly to you key chain ring or clip. Using a slip knot will ensure that there are two sides of string hanging down. This is what you want! Make sure this knot is secure so that your beads do not fall off at the end.

Next, grab your first bead. Place the bead in the center with the two sides of string hanging down on either side of the bead. Loop the ends of your string through the holes on either side of the bead. The string on the right going through the right hole and out the left (of the bead). Vice versa for the other string side.

Continue to do this until you have used all of your desired beads. Make sure to alternate the way the strings are looping through the bead.

Once you have added all your beads you are ready to tie off the end of your key chain. Leave about an inch or so of empty string after your last bead, and then tie it off with a knot! This will ensure that the beads will have space to move from when counting your strokes.

You did it! You are now finished with your stroke counter! Attach it to your golf bag or belt loop and you are ready for the course!

Have a happy Thursday everyone! Stay Smashing!

Smashing Tennis Outfits

We’re checking out the top Women’s Tennis players this season and what trends they are setting.

First off, the always beautiful, Serena Williams! She is always looking Smashing on and off the court. Here we see a photo from when Serena won the French Open this past June. The winner is sporting a Nike brand, fun and fierce orange dress with a patterned bottom. This fun outfit was a great choice to accentuate Serena’s personality and to bring a little color to her game.  The patterned bottom is a great way to spice up any dress or outfit. Serena’s outfit reminded me of our very own Michelle dress! My personal favorite is the all over, pink houndstooth pattern. This dress, similar to Serena’s, brings some excitement to the court! While this dress is for athletic wear, it makes the perfect outfit for running errands or a lunch date with friends.

Next, Maria Sharapova at the Australian Open! Here Maria is sporting another Nike brand dress. Her dress is a fit and flare style, red, athletic dress. The dress has a slimming color block stripe along the bottom of the dresses skirts. Maria paired the dress with a matching red Nike visor to complete the outfit. The dress also had a flirty oval cut out on the back that wrapped around to the front. Maria always likes to add a little color to her outfits on the court, but with this one she went all out. Our Smashing duplicate would have to be our Diana ruffled skort! Pairing one of these with any top is an effortless outfit for any game day. The color block ruffle reminded me of the color block stripe on Sharapova’s dress. Our skirt comes in a variety of colors for anyone to match!

Finally, we have Sabine Lisicki! Also pictured at the Australian Open, Sabine is wearing a pink and white “crackle” print Nike skirt and top. This skirt and top is an eye catching combo to anyone looking to brighten up their day. Caroline Garcia, Sara Errani and Lucie Hradecka clearly agreed when we saw that they wore this same pink outfit to their matches! The ombre effect on the top tones down the outfit a bit from the already neon color. Sabine paired the look with a neon yellow visor to contrast the already color filled combo. Pairing a skirt pattern with the same pattern top is a great way to instantly slim your body. The pairing creates a somewhat custom dress that can be worn by anyone! If Smashing doesn’t slim you enough already, pair anyone of our patterned skorts with the same patterned top and see for yourself. I suggest our Maddie skort in pink houndstooth, paired with our Billie sleeveless top with pink houndstooth trim. You’re sure to look Smashing!

As you can see, a lot of this seasons summer trends are involving bright colors and patterns! Check out our selection at http://www.smashingonline.com!

Must-Have Golf Apps

Check out this list of awesome Apps any golf lover will enjoy! Whether your a beginner or a pro, these are sure to help improve your game!

Golf GPS & Scorecard: This App is by far the most talented. It easily displays the information you need to know about any golf course in the world!!! For any type of golfer, this is your new tool. It shows you elevation, wind speed, and even suggests clubs to use. This is a must get for anyone out on the course! Nike Golf 360: This App allows you to keep scores and stats of games from courses everywhere. You can watch golf swings of top athletes to help improve your game. This App is great for tracking progress and improving your game from where ever you are! Supreme Golf: This one might be familiar to some, but still needs to be recognized. This App is “the world’s largest tee time search engine,” according to iTunes. You are able to search tee times for multiple golf courses and find the best price for you. The clear comparison of course, time, and price are sure to attract any golf lover. Ubersense Coach: This App isn’t only for those who love golf, but for anyone who plays sports. This App uses slow motion video analysis to help you improve your game. You can upload your own videos to analyze or you can watch others. You can create notes, add drawings, and track your progress overtime! Great for any sport! Don’t forget to check out our summer sale! Use code SUMMER to receive an extra %15 off! Stay Smashing everyone!

Feature Blog: Emily Collins

This week, I wanted to take the time to introduce Emily Collins. Emily is 22 years old (Almost 23!) and is a professional golfer from Colleyville, Texas. She is a recent graduate The University of Oklahoma where she also played on the Women’s Golf Team! She has an older brother named Patrick. Emily gloats, saying that he is probably the smartest person she knows! Emily started golfing at a very young age. “I first started hitting golf balls when I was 7”, Emily says. This young golfer started playing tournaments when she was only 10 years old and by 19 she was playing in the 2011 U.S. Women’s Open.

Emily spotted wearing a Smashing Michelle dress!

Today, Emily is participating in the Symetra Tour. While on this tour, Emily gets to travel all over the country playing beloved game of golf. So far, Emily shared that her greatest accomplishment was, “Graduating from college in 4 years as an All-American Scholar, while being a full time athlete”. What an incredible accomplishment! Emily also shared with me that her biggest role model would have to be Audrey Hepburn! Emily loves to live in the moment and soak up the most of everyday. While she loves to take each day as it comes, Emily plans to continue her involvement with golf into her future. In 10 years, Emily hopes to be happily married and either playing golf, or at least be involved in the golf community. Emily has so much passion for the game and she doesn’t think that will ever change.

Emily is an inspiration to young athletes everywhere and encourages everyone to follow their dreams.

“Train your mind to see good in everything”

On June 19th, Emily will be playing at the Four Winds Invitational in South Bend, Indiana. From everyone here at Smashing, we wish Emily the best of luck on her tour and a Happy (early) 23^rd Birthday! We can’t wait to see what the future holds for her!

Funniest Tennis Moments

Sharing with you some of the funniest captured tennis moments!

“Oh my, it’s coming right at us! Hit the ball!”

“AHHHHH! No, you hit it!”

Breathe girl! Breathe!

This looks like one of those photos where the eyes follow you everywhere.

Well, looks like someone did their stretches before their match today.

 I don’t know how he ended up on the ground, but i really hope he was able to hit the ball. 

 It looks like he’s on a poster for an opera show and someone put a tennis racket in his hand.

I would hate to hear the tennis grunt that fueled this ball over the net. 

Have a Smashing Thursday!

Smashing Facts About Tennis

Test your knowledge of tennis with these fun facts!

1. Women who played in the first Wimbledon tournaments had to wear full-length dresses.

They clearly were in the need for some Smashing attire!

2. Tiffany & Co. makes the U.S. Open Trophy.

Forget a Tiffany ring, I’ll take an engagement trophy please!

3. For the first one hundred years that modern tennis was played, the strings of the racquets were made from the guts of animals.

Am I the only one wondering how this was made possible? Tennis sure has come a long way!

4. The fastest serve in the women’s tennis was done by Venus Williams who recorded a serve of 205 km/h.

I wonder if she won the match?

5. Yellow tennis balls were used at Wimbledon for the first time in 1986.

Yellow and white were the only colors approved by the United States Tennis Association.

6. A tennis ball weighs 2 ounces or 56.69 grams

Who knew so much power could be packed into such a small package?!

7. The shortest player ever was Gertrude Hoahing, who stood 4 ft. 9 in. tall.

Poor guy, he nearly made it over the net!

8. Tennis originated in Great Britain.

Alright, if you didn’t know this one you probably shouldn’t be playing tennis.

9. Serena and Venus Williams became the first pair of sisters to win the Olympic gold in tennis.

Woohoo sister power!

10. The longest match in the history of tennis was played between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut at Wimbledon in 2010. It lasted for about 11 hours.

Yesh! Talk about a work out!

As always, have a Smashing day!

What Type of Golfer Are You?

Ever wonder what type of golfer you are? Are you the intense type that’s super competitive? Or are you the chill type that likes to pick up a game once in a while? Take the quiz below and make note of the ones you choose. At the bottom of the quiz you will find a description according to the answers you chose!

Let’s get started!

1. It’s a beautiful sunny day, what are you doing?
   A. Poolside baby!
   B. Calling your girlfriends for a shopping day.
   C. Calling the golf course to schedule your afternoon game.
   D. No plans! Just going with the flow.
2. Out of the blue, you are invited to play a round of golf. What do you do?
   A. Hah! Me? No way!
   B. Grab your newest Smashing dress and hit the course.
   C. Decline, you need more time to practice.
   D. Sure, you’re not doing anything today.
3. You’re about to tee-off on the first, what club do you use?
   A. What’s a club?
   B. Putter
   C. Driver
   D. Wedge
4. You turn on the TV and the golf channel is on, what do you do?
   A. Its just background noise to you.
   B. “What an awful outfit. Clearly they don’t buy Smashing!”
   C. Intently watch the tournament that’s on.
   D. Maybe start to practice your swing.

5. You have just won a golf tournament!! What is your response?
   A. “Drinks on me! Let’s party!”
   B. “Wohoo! I knew this was my lucky outfit!”
   C. “I won!!!! You all need some practice!”
   D. “Great game! Can’t wait for next time!”
6. How often do you practice your swing?
   A. About once a month…maybe.
   B. Whenever I’m on the course with my girlfriends.
   C. I don’t need to, I’m that good.
   D. Whenever I have a few minuets to spare.

Now that you have taken the quiz, tally up how many answers of each letter you circled. Once you have that number, match it up with one of the descriptions to find out what type of golfer you are!

Mostly A’s: YOU ARE THE NON-GOLFER!

Golf really isn’t your sport. Sure you will play once in a while, but you prefer tennis! Maybe even football is your sport of choice! What ever it may be, golf is certainly not for you!

Mostly B’s: YOU ARE THE SOCIAL GOLFER!

There’s nothing like some new gossip around the country club to bring you out on the course! Your all about the ensemble and making sure your outfit matches your bag. You’re not that good at the game, but that doesn’t matter when you’re hanging with your girlfriends!

Mostly C’s: YOU ARE THE COMPETITIVE GOLFER!

You hit the course whenever you can and are always practicing. It’s not just a game, to you it’s a lifestyle! You get a little competitive at times, but that’s only because you are training to be on the Masters! You’re not worried though because you know how good you are.

Mostly D’s: YOU ARE THE CALM GOLFER!

You just like to go with the flow. You like the game, but you don’t let it take over your life. You can be good at it if you wanted to be, but you have other things to worry about. You are a member of the club, but you might be more dedicated to another sport. You love a good game every now and again!

Mostly Mixed: YOU ARE A GOLFER…SOMETIMES!

You like to golf, but you also hate to golf. You really can’t make up your mind about the sport. You play it sometimes and you’re kind of good, so you should like it. The quiet atmosphere freaks you out a little and makes you uncomfortable. If your going to play it has to be a perfect day! If one single thing goes wrong, you are out! 

Comment your answers below and share what kind of golfer you are! Thanks for playing everyone, have a Smashing day!